Preparation of process cheese

ABSTRACT

A sodium aluminum phosphate composition having an empirical formula 
     
         x Na.sub.2 O . y Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 . 8 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 . z H.sub.2 O 
    
     wherein x is a number higher than 15 up to and inclusive of 24, v is a number between 1.0 and 3.9 inclusive, and z is a number between 0 and 50 inclusive, is used for emulsification and to provide optimum alkalinity in preparing process cheese.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 411,609, filed Nov. 1, 1973,now U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,679.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to compositions which are particularly useful ascheese emulsifiers, processes for preparing cheese with suchcompositions and cheese formulations containing such compositions. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions that provide optimum available alkalinity.

Many phosphate materials are known as cheese emulsifiers for processcheese, such as disodium orthophosphate, trisodium orthophosphate,sodium hexametaphosphate, and the like. However, these materials allhave serious limitations as cheese emulsifiers and therefore are notused to the extent desired for cheese emulsification. For example,disodium orthophosphate is generally satisfactory as a cheese emulsifierbelow about 2.1% (based on the total weight of the cheese) but when usedin greater amounts, crystals of disodium orthophosphate usually fromwhich is, of course, highly objectionable.

More recently, sodium aluminum phosphate compositions have beensuggested as cheese emulsifiers. These sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions have been combined with other phosphates such as disodiumorthophosphate to form useful compositions for emulsifying cheese whenused in levels up to about 3%. Illustrative of such compositions areU.S. Pat. Nos. 3,097,949, 3,244,535, 3,337,347, 3,554,921 and morerecently U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,726,960 and 3,729,546.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Unfortunately, these known sodium aluminum phosphate compositions do notprovide the optimum level of available alkalinity that a cheesemanufacturer might desire in his cheese manufacturing operations.Furthermore, it has been found to be extremely difficult to obtainsodium aluminum phosphates that have reproducible available alkalinitiesin the heretobefore known ratios of materials used to form these knownsodium aluminum phosphate compositions.

The term "available alkalinity" as used herein means the alkalinityavailable from sodium aluminum phosphate compositions as determined bytest procedures that simulate actual cheese emulsification conditions.

In actual cheese emulsification about 3% of the emulsifier is added tothe cheese (giving about 7% by weight emulsifier concentration in thewater phase) at 72±2° C. at an average pH of about 5.8. The cheese ismixed for about 5 minutes at this temperature. Loaf cheese is thenremoved and slowly cooled while undergoing further processing.

The test procedures utilized to determine "available alkalinity" hereinare as follows: In as rapid a sequence as possible, 4.9 grams of samplematerial and about 20 ml. of water (at 80°-90° C.) are placed in a 150ml. tared beaker which is equipped with a magnetic stirring bar. Whilemaintaining the temperature at 70±4° C., about 35 ml. of 0.5 N HCl isadded. The pH is maintained at 5.8 for 30 minutes by adding 0.5 N HCl asnecessary. The time, slurry temperature, pH and ml. of HCl added arerecorded. The concentration should be adjusted by adding water so thatthe final weight of the resulting mass is 70.0 grams and has a pH of 5.8at 70±4° C. This provides a concentration of 7% by weight of theemulsifier at the final conditions. The "available alkalinity"(expressed as %) can be obtained from the following equation: ##EQU1##

As discussed hereinafter it has been found that the optimum availablealkalinity for many cheese manufacturing procedures is at about 15%.

It has now been found, in accordance with the present invention, that anentirely new and distinct class of sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions having this desirable optimum available alkalinity, aproperty heretofore unrecognized, can be prepared. Furthermore, a highlyunexpected and surprising characteristic of many of the sodium aluminumphosphate compositions of this invention is that they can be readilyreproduced so that subsequently manufactured compositions vary onlyslightly from previous compositions in their available alkalinity. Thenew sodium aluminum phosphate compositions have, for use as cheeseemulsifiers, the recognized advantages as previously described and, inaddition provide both optimum available alkalinity and in most cases thereproducibility necessary to maintain consistent available alkalinitiesin subsequently manfactured compositions resulting in imparting usefuland beneficial properties to cheese, all of which will be more fullydiscussed hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The sodium aluminum phosphate compositions of the present invention canbe characterized by the following empirical formula

    x Na.sub.2 O .sup.. y Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.sup..  8 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 .sup.. z H.sub.2 O

wherein x is a number higher than 15 up to and inclusive of 24, y is anumber between 1.0 and 3.9 inclusive, and z is a number between 0 and 50inclusive. Particularly preferred compositions are when x is a numberhigher than 15 up to and inclusive of 18.

In addition, the preferred compositions are substantially amorphous,i.e., an X-ray pattern exhibits no characteristic lines of sodiumaluminum phosphates and if some lines are present, they are usuallythose characteristic for small amounts of disodium orthophosphate,and/or trisodium orthophosphate. It should be noted, however, that thesecompositions can be formed in the crystalline state and although thecrystalline forms are useful as cheese emulsifiers they do not appear,in general, to exhibit the advantageous properties as cheese emulsifiersthat the amorphous forms of the compositions exhibit. In addition, thewater as indicated in the foregoing formula should not necessarily betaken as representing water of crystallization since thermal gravimetricanalysis indicated that the water is lost gradually when thecompositions are heated to temperatures between about 80° C. and about500° C. and there is usually no clearly defined break such as would bepresent in the case of free water or a crystalline hydrate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Compositions of the present invention can be prepared in many differentways, however a preferred method for producing the compositions, ingeneral, comprises reacting a sodium material, an aluminum containingmaterial, and a phosphorus containing material. In particular, thesodium materials which are suitable include the sodium oxides, sodiumhydroxides, and the sodium orthophosphates, such as the monosodium,disodium, and the trisodiumorthophosphates, including mixtures thereof.In addition, the aluminum containing materials, which are suitableinclude aluminum oxide, aluminum hydroxide, and the sodium aluminatesincluding mixtures thereof. Further, the phosphorus containing materialsinclude the sodium orthophosphates and orthophosphoric acid includingmixtures thereof. When orthophosphoric acid is used, it is preferablyconcentrated, i.e., containing above about 50% H₃ PO₄ by weight. Ingeneral, the reactants are admixed in any order and, if necessary, wateris added in sufficient amounts to provide a suitable reaction mediumwith the reaction preferably conducted under agitation. The reaction isusually exothermic and the temperature, depending upon the amount ofwater used, if any, reactants used and the like, can reach as high asabout 70° C. to about 140° C., although it is generally preferred tokeep the temperature below about 100° C. Again, depending upon thereactants and the reacting conditions used, an amount of water can beadded which will give, because the reaction is exothermic, a relativelydry, pulverulent reaction product. In cases where excess water is used,the reaction products can usually be dried to a dry, particulate stateby various means in order to remove the water, such as by drum drying.While it is preferred that sufficient water be present to give a slurryconcentration of no more than about 90% solids by weight, it is rarelynecessary, if ever, to use a slurry concentration of less than about 20%solids by weight. The amounts of sodium materials, aluminum containingmaterials, and the phosphorus containing materials are selected in sucha manner as will give the desired amounts of sodium, aluminum, andphosphorus in the reaction product. The preferred procedure forpreparing the sodium aluminum phosphate compositions of the presentinvention is to react phosphoric acid with hydrated alumina andsubsequently react the resulting mass with sodium hydroxide or sodiumcarbonate.

As previously mentioned, the sodium aluminum phosphate compositions ofthe present invention provide an available alkalinity which isparticularly desired by commercial cheese manufacturers. Illustrative ofthe significance of such available alkalinity is Table I below whereinvarious commercial cheese emulsifiers, their concentrations upon use incheese and the available alkalinities are shown for commercial cheesemanufacturing operations. This table shows that available alkalinity ofabout 15.5±1% is the level desired by many such manufacturingoperations, preferably 15.5±0.5%.

                  Table I                                                         ______________________________________                                                                       Available                                                       Concentration Alkalinity                                     Emulsifier       (% wt.)       (%)                                            ______________________________________                                        Kasal-9.sup.1 +  2.5           10.0                                           Trisodium phosphate                                                                            + 0.5         + 6.1                                          Mixture actually used                                                                          3.0           16.1                                           Emulsiphos 660.sup.2                                                                           3.0           14.9                                           Emulsiphos 440.sup.3                                                                           3.0           15.1                                           Disodium Phosphate                                                                             2.1           15.2                                           Trisodium Phosphate                                                                            1.2           14.8                                           ______________________________________                                         .sup.1 A commercial cheese emulsifier of the Stauffer Chemical Company        which contains a sodium aluminum phosphate of empirical formula    14.69      Na.sub.2 O . 2.43 . Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 . 8 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 . 11.5 H.sub.2 O     .sup.2 A commercial cheese emulsifier of Monsanto Company which contains      trisodium phosphate and sodium metaphosphate.                                 .sup.3 A commercial cheese emulsifier of Monsanto Company which contains      disodium phosphate and sodium metaphosphate.                             

The sodium aluminum phosphate compositions of the present invention willprovide an available alkalinity of about 15% which is of particularimportance to cheese manufacturers.

Although an available alkalinity of 15% may not be the most favorablefor all properties of a processed cheese, it is the optimum leveldesired to accomplish the best overall cheese compositions. Cheeseproperties that are most affected by alkalinity are oil off, break andcrystal formation. Table II illustrates the effect of different levelsof available alkalinities on these properties. (The numbers shown are onarbitrary scales of good to poor).

                                      Table II                                    __________________________________________________________________________                      Cheese Properties                                           Emulsifier  Alkalinity                                                                          Oil Off                                                                              Break  Crystal Formation                             __________________________________________________________________________    Trisodium Phosphate                                                                       25%   3.2(good)                                                                            0.8    2.0(poor)                                     Trisodium Phosphate                                                                       15%   3.2    1.1    1.5                                           Disodium Phosphate                                                                        14%   3.0    1.5(good)                                                                            0.2                                           Monosodium Phosphate                                                                      0     1.6(poor)                                                                             0(poor)                                                                                0(good)                                    __________________________________________________________________________

From Tables I and II above it becomes clear that a cheese emulsifierthat can provide an available alkalinity of about 15% to 16% isparticularly desirable for the cheese industry. The novel sodiumaluminum phosphate compositions of the present invention provide theheretofore described advantageous properties of such materials and,additionally, provide this feature of 15% or higher availablealkalinity.

Furthermore, it has been found that many of these sodium aluminumphosphate compositions formed at the ratios of materials necessary forthose of the present invention are surprisingly more reproducible. Bythis it is meant that, contrary to the widely varying alkalinitiesobtained with commercial grade materials, many of the sodium aluminumphosphate compositions of the present invention have reproducibleavailable alkalinities. To illustrate, the following procedures 1-5 arepreparative methods for a sodium aluminum phosphate compositiondesignated as T. (Similar procedures as indicated are utilized forpreparing the other exemplary sodium aluminum phosphate compositionsshown in Table IV).

PROCEDURE 1

A total of 212.1 gms. of Al₂ O₃.sup.. 3H₂ O is dissolved in 1006.4 gms.of 50% NaOH. This mixture is diluted with 785 gms. of water. A diluteacid solution is made by adding 811.1 gms. of 80% H₃ PO₄ to 785 gms. ofwater and then added with agitation to the alumina-caustic solution. Theresulting 30% slurry is then homogenized and spray dried.

PROCEDURE 2

The same as Procedure 1 except the slurry is drum dried.

PROCEDURE 3

A total of 212.1 gms. of Al₂ O₃.sup.. 3H₂ O is dissolved in 1006.4 gms.of 50% NaOH. This mixture and 811.1 gms. of 80% H₃ PO₄ aresimultaneously added to 1570 gms. of H₂ O with agitation. The resultingslurry is then homogenized and spray dried.

PROCEDURE 4

The same as Procedure 3 except the slurry is drum dried.

PROCEDURE 5

A total of 212.1 gms. of Al₂ O₃.sup.. 3H₂ O is dissolved in 811.1 gms.of 80% H₃ PO₄ and then diluted with 785 gms. of water. This mixture wasthen added with agitation to a solution of 785 gms. of water and 1006.4gms. of 50% NaOH. The slurry is homogenized and spray dried.

Using these procedures various lots of the sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions indicated in Table III were prepared and their availablealkalinities determined and compared with a commercial sodium aluminumphosphate composition and an analogous sodium aluminum phosphatecomposition prepared in the laboratory as shown in Table IV.

                  Table III                                                       ______________________________________                                        Sodium Aluminum                                                                           Analysis on an Anhydrous Molar Basis                              Phosphate   Na.sub.2 O Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                         P.sub.2 O.sub.5                             Composition (%)        (%)        (%)                                         ______________________________________                                        D           42.0        7.5       50.5                                        T           39.0       14.0       47.0                                        M           40.0       11.5       48.5                                        J           39.5       15.0       45.5                                         K*         39.5       11.0       49.5                                          K-9**     39.5-40.2  10.5-11.1  49.4-49.7                                   ______________________________________                                          *Laboratory prepared sodium aluminum phosphate composition analogous to      K-9.                                                                          **Commercially available sodium aluminum phosphate composition of The         Stauffer Chemical Company (analysis of five samples).                    

                  Table IV                                                        ______________________________________                                        SALP     Lot     Procedure   Available Alkalinity                             ______________________________________                                        D        1       3           15.3                                             D        2       3           15.3                                             D        3       3           15.1                                             D        4       3           14.9                                             D        5       3           15.8                                             T        1       2           15.2                                             T        2       3           15.6                                             T        3       2           15.6                                             T        4       2           15.6                                             T        5       2           15.2                                             T        6       3           15.4                                             T        7       1           15.5                                             T        8       5           15.6                                             T        9       1           15.6                                             T        10      3           15.8                                             T        11      1           15.2                                             M        1       3           15.1                                             M        2       3           15.4                                             M        3       3           15.7                                             M        4       3           15.8                                             M        5       3           15.4                                             M        6       3           15.5                                             J        1       4           16.0                                             J        2       2           16.2                                             J        3       2           15.9                                             J        4       2           15.7                                             K        1       2           12.1                                             K        2       2           14.5                                             K        3       4           15.6                                             K-9                          11.6                                             K-9                          13.0                                             K-9      UNKNOWN         13.4                                                 K-9                      14.0                                                 K-9                      11.9                                                 ______________________________________                                    

As can be readily observed from Table IV, the sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions of the present invention have significantly morereproducible available alkalinities than the commercial sodium aluminumphosphate composition and the analogous laboratory prepared sodiumaluminum phosphate composition which are outside of the scope of thepresent invention.

The process cheese formulations of the instant invention, i.e., one ormore cheese stocks and emulsifiers, can be prepared by mixing,preferably with the aid of heat, one or more cheese stocks and, as anemulsifier, the sodium aluminum phosphate compositions of the instantinvention. Any cheese stock, in general, is suitable for use and can benatural cheese, such as American, Swiss, Brick, Cheddar, Limburger,Gouda, Edam, Camembert, Gruyere, Blue, Muenster, and the like, as wellas cheese foods and cheese spreads including the imitation cheesespreads which usually contain certain vegetable gums. Depending upon theparticular cheese stocks and/or cheese stock blends employed, the sodiumaluminum phosphate compositions can be used in amounts up to about 6% byweight and as low as 0.1% by weight of the total cheese composition,with amounts between about 1.5% to about 3% by weight being preferred.In addition, in some instances, the sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions of the instant invention can be used in conjunction withother cheese emulsifiers, such as disodium orthophosphate, trisodiumorthophosphate, sodium citrates, and the like, including mixturesthereof although this is not a necessity.

In general, the cheese formulations can be prepared by admixing thecheese stocks and/or cheese stock blends with emulsifiers in such amanner as to thoroughly blend the additives. Usually heat is necessaryto be able to sufficiently work the cheese stocks and, in general,temperatures between about 120° to 200° F. are suitable. In some casesit is advantageous to incorporate the cheese emulsifier of the presentinvention in the cheese stock and/or cheese stock blends while thecheese is being prepared in its curd form before drying, although, ingeneral, it is preferred to blend the emulsifier with the cheese stockand/or cheese stock blends after the cheese has been prepared and curedto a suitable degree.

The sodium aluminum phosphate compositions impart to the cheese stocksnot only emulsifying properties, i.e, preventing or minimizing oilseparation from the cheese stocks especially when heated, but also suchadvantageous properties as exhibiting no tendency to crystallize,improving the development of melt, i.e., the ability of the cheese tomelt without oil separation, so that little or no curing period isrequired, and exhibiting the ability to raise the pH of a cheese to thedesired level for process cheese formulations which is usually betweenabout 5.5 to about 6. Equally as important, the cheese emulsifiers ofthe present invention exhibit, as cheese emulsifiers, other advantageousproperties which are not believed to be found in conventional cheeseemulsifiers, such as their ability to be used in a wide variety ofcheese stocks having various ages and pH's as well as various cheesestock blends which enables the cheese manufacturer to formulate andprepare process cheese formulations without any unnecessary processingand/or blending of the cheese stocks. In addition, the cheeseemulsifiers of the present invention impart to pre-cut sliced processcheese formulations the distinct and important advantage of permittingbetter and easier separation of the slices which is often, in the caseof such cheese, the deciding factor in the consumers preference. Inaddition, the substantially amorphous sodium aluminum phosphatecompositions are, in general, excellent cheese emulsifiers, especiallyfrom the standpoint of the highly objectionable feature of crystalformation, since these compositions are substantially amorphous and donot exhibit the tendency to form crystals even under stringentconditions of use. As can be appreciated, therefore, the process cheeseformulation having incorporated therein the cheese emulsifiers of thepresent invention are superior cheese formulations for many and variousreasons.

CHEESE TESTS

In the following tests, compositions of the present invention are usedas cheese emulsifiers in processing cheese. In general, the processcheese formulations are prepared by adding ground cheddar cheese stock,about 386 grams, and the cheese emulsifiers, in amounts as indicated inthe following Tables, to a mixing bowl used with a Hobart C-100 mixer.The mixing bowl is equipped with a steam injection system for uniformheating of the cheese formulation. The cheese and the emulsifier aremixed under steam injection for about 2.25 minutes and an additionalperiod of time of about 5 seconds with no steam injection. The rate ofsteam injection is adjusted so that the final cheese temperature isabout 75°-80° C. Hot cheese melts are poured into Teflon-lined trays,covered with Teflon sheets, rolled out to a thickness of 1/8 inch andcooled to refrigerator temperatures. The cooled melt was cut in standard4 inch square slices, stacked, packed and stored in the refrigerator at5°-8° C. The resulting cheese formulations were evaluated for thefollowing properties: pH, melting spread, oil-off, penetration, grainand slice separation. Evaluation methods for determining theseproperties are as follows:

pH

pH measurements were made on cheese slurries with a Fisher Accumet Model520 Digital pH meter. Slurries were 20 gms. of cheese blended into 10gms. of distilled water at room temperature.

Melting Spread

Discs of cheese, 22 mm. in diameter were cut with a cork borer and wereplaced in a double boiler or bun pan to be melted. An average value fromthe following two tests were recorded.

1. Cheese discs were placed on a cold aluminum bun pan 151/2 × 101/4 ×3/4 inch in size. The pan of cheese discs was heated 5 minutes at 350°F. in a baking oven. Then the pan was removed from the oven to the benchtop to cool. Duplicate or triplicate discs from up to seven cheesesamples were tested at the same time. The pan was covered with plasticduring preparation of the discs to keep the cheese from drying. Thespread of the cheese curd, not oil, was measured in mm. The melt spreadvalue for each disc was the average of three measurements of diametermade at equal intervals of rotation.

2. Cheese discs, 2 slices thick, were placed in a cold top pan of a 2quart double boiler (Commet brand). The pan of cheese discs was heatedover boiling water for 4 minutes. Then the pan was removed from the heatto the bench top to cool. The lid was kept on the pan throughout thetests to keep the cheese from drying. Duplicate tests were made at thesame time using a second double boiler of the same type.

The melt spread was measured the same as in the oven method.

Oil-Off

The degree of oil separation upon heating the cheese discs was observedand reported on the basis of numerical scale. A value of 3.0 indicatesno oil separation while 0 represents considerable oil-off.

Penetration

A precision penetrometer equipped with a needle probe was used tomeasure the penetration of a stack of cheese slices. The probe point wasplaced at the cheese surface and then released for 5 seconds by stopwatch. Penetration was the depth in 0.1 mm. that the probe sank into thecheese. To keep temperatures uniform each cheese was taken from therefrigerator just before testing.

Slice Separation

Ease of separating the slices was rated on a 0--3 scale. A value of 3.0indicates very easy separation while 0 means the slices could not beseparated without tearing into pieces.

Tables V through VII show the characteristics of cheese formulationsprepared with the sodium phosphate compositions of this invention asemulsifiers at the indicated concentrations in comparison with othercheese emulsifiers. Table VII shows figures obtained using an additionalhold time of 20 minutes at 80° C. to simulate slow cooling of largebatches of emulsified cheese prepared commercially.

                                      TABLE V                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Emulsifier System                                                                              Cheese Properties                                                        Anhyd.% Melt                                                                              Oil                                                                              Penetr.                                                                           Slice                                           Emulsifier Used pH Spread                                                                            Off                                                                              Value                                                                             Separation                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Kasal - 9.sup.1 +                                                                         3.0.sup.3                                                                          6.42                                                                             35.3                                                                              2.7                                                                              74  3.0                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           Kasal - 9.sup.2 +                                                                         3.0.sup.4                                                                          6.20                                                                             36.7                                                                              2.6                                                                              72  3.0                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           M.sup.5     3.0  6.33                                                                             36.2                                                                              2.4                                                                              67  3.0                                            D.sup.6     3.0  6.28                                                                             35.0                                                                              2.6                                                                              66  3.0                                            Disodium phosphate                                                                        2.1  6.03                                                                             34.7                                                                              2.5                                                                              76  3.0                                            T.sup.7     3.0  6.37                                                                             36.3                                                                              2.4                                                                              68  3.0                                            Trisodium phosphate                                                                       1.2  6.30                                                                             39.7                                                                              0.8                                                                              73  3.0                                            __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.1 14% Available Alkalinity.                                              .sup.2 11.6% Available Alkalinity.                                            .sup.3,4 The total of 2.5% by weight of Kasal-9 and 0.5% by weight of         trisodium phosphate.                                                          .sup.5,6,7 Sodium Aluminum Phosphate Compositions of Tables III and IV.  

                                      TABLE VI                                    __________________________________________________________________________    Emulsifier System                                                                              Cheese Properties                                                        Anhyd.% Melt                                                                              Oil                                                                              Penetr.                                                                           Slice                                           Emulsifier Used pH Spread                                                                            Off                                                                              Value                                                                             Separation                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Kasal - 9.sup.1 +                                                                         2.70.sup.3                                                                         6.20                                                                             36.3                                                                              2.3                                                                              74  3.0                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           Kasal - 9.sup.2 +                                                                         2.70.sup.4                                                                         6.10                                                                             37.7                                                                              2.2                                                                              72  3.0                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           M.sup.5     2.70 6.09                                                                             36.3                                                                              2.5                                                                              67  2.8                                            DSP/TSP.sup.6                                                                             1.36 6.01                                                                             40.1                                                                              1.8                                                                              72  3.0                                            D.sup.7     2.70 6.03                                                                             35.1                                                                              2.6                                                                              63  3.0                                            Disodium phosphate                                                                        1.80 5.83                                                                             37.8                                                                              2.5                                                                              71  2.5                                            T.sup.8     2.70 6.16                                                                             37.7                                                                              2.4                                                                              69  2.8                                            Trisodium phosphate                                                                       1.08 6.10                                                                             42.2                                                                              0  69  1.8                                            __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.1 14% Available Alkalinity.                                              .sup.2 11.6% Available Alkalinity.                                            .sup.3,4 The total of 2.5% by weight of Kasal-9 and 0.5% by weight of         trisodium phosphate.                                                          .sup.6 Mixture of disodium phosphate (56%) and trisodium phosphate (44%).     .sup.5,7,8 Sodium Aluminum Phosphate Compositions of Tables III and IV.  

                                      TABLE VII                                   __________________________________________________________________________    (20 minute hold time at 80° C.)                                        Emulsifier System                                                                              Cheese Properties                                                        Anhyd.% Melt                                                                              Oil                                                                              Penetr.                                                                           Slice                                           Emulsifier Used pH Spread                                                                            Off                                                                              Value                                                                             Separation                                     __________________________________________________________________________    Kasal - 9.sup.1 +                                                                         3.00.sup.3                                                                         6.28                                                                             39.9                                                                              1.8                                                                              80  1.5                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           Kasal - 9.sup.2 +                                                                         3.00.sup.4                                                                         6.16                                                                             38.9                                                                              1.1                                                                              69  1.5                                            trisodium phosphate                                                           M.sup.5     3.00 6.18                                                                             37.4                                                                              2.2                                                                              69  3.0                                            DSP/TSP.sup.6                                                                             1.50 6.02                                                                             41.1                                                                              0.3                                                                              74  2.0                                            D.sup.7     3.00 6.11                                                                             31.8                                                                              2.1                                                                              80  1.0                                            Disodium phosphate                                                                        2.10 5.87                                                                             30.4                                                                              1.0                                                                              84  1.0                                            T.sup.8     3.00 6.23                                                                             41.3                                                                              0.4                                                                              72  3.0                                            Trisodium phosphate                                                                       1.20 6.11                                                                             40.0                                                                              0  71  *                                              __________________________________________________________________________     .sup.1 14% Available Alkalinity.                                              .sup.2 11.6% Available Alkalinity.                                            .sup.3,4 The total of 2.5% by weight of Kasal-9 and 0.5% by weight of         trisodium phosphate.                                                          .sup.6 Mixture of disodium phosphate (44%) and trisodium phosphate (56%).     .sup.5,7,8 Sodium Aluminum Phosphate Compositions of Tables III and IV.       *Could not get out of casting tray                                       

While the invention has been described herein with regard to certainspecific embodiments, it is not so limited. It is to be understood thatvariations and modifications thereof may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The embodiments of this invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A process cheeseformulation containing cheese and, in an effective emulsifying amount, asodium aluminum phosphate composition having an empirical formula

    x Na.sub.2 O .sup.. y Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .sup.. 8 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 .sup.. z H.sub.2 O

wherein x is a number higher than 15 up to and inclusive of 24, y is anumber 1.0 and 3.9 inclusive, and z is a number between 0 and 50inclusive.
 2. A process cheese formulation according to claim 1 whereinthe x of the sodium aluminum phosphate composition is a number higherthan 15 up to and inclusive of
 18. 3. In a process for preparing aprocess cheese formulation which comprises heating cheese andincorporating, in an effective emulsifying amount, a cheese emulsifierin the cheese, the improvement consisting of using a sodium aluminumphosphate composition, having an empirical formula

    x Na.sub.2 O .sup.. y Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 .sup.. 8 P.sub.2 O.sub.5 .sup.. z H.sub.2 O

wherein x is a number higher than 15 up to and inclusive of 24, y is anumber between 1.0 and 3.9 inclusive, and z is a number between 0 and 50inclusive, as all or part of the cheese emulsifier.
 4. In a process forpreparing a process cheese formulation according to claim 3, theimprovement wherein the x of the sodium aluminum phosphate compositionis a number higher than 15 up to and inclusive of 18.